Authorities want to improve safety on Shipyard Boulevard

Sunday

Jun 8, 2014 at 10:31 PM

Officials want to use federal funding to construct a sidewalk and bus pull-out lane along the roadway.

By Caitlin DineenCaitlin.Dineen@StarNewsOnline.com

Local transportation officials say only luck has prevented someone from dying or being seriously injured walking along the stretch of Shipyard Boulevard between Carolina Beach Road and the Port of Wilmington.To address that constant concern, officials with the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority want to use federal funding to construct a sidewalk and bus pull-out lane along the roadway that's often humming with trucks running to and from the port."I would consider this more of a safety project than an amenities project," said Albert Eby, the authority's executive director.Eby referred to the stretch of road between Vance Street and Rutledge Drive as a "high-risk" area.A neighborhood off Shipyard Boulevard consists of high-frequency bus riders, Eby said. Anyone catching a Wave Transit bus there stands off the road on existing curbs.The popular bus stop is marked only with signage on a pole. No benches or shelter are provided to riders there.The use of the stop is visible at the large patch of brown, dry earth marked from the feet of riders.The area largely consists of churches and several commercial buildings. Aside from that, that road is a straightaway into the active port.Although no one has been hit by port traffic along the road, there have been close calls with bus riders and heavy traffic, Eby said.By evaluating the project now, Eby said officials should eliminate the possibility of something tragic happening there.The project has been all talk for several years after Eby was contacted by Stephanie Ayers, the state port's director of port planning and development.Two weeks ago the project was brought before members of the Wilmington-area Transportation Advisory Committee.Mike Kozlosky, Wilmington's senior transportation planner, said officials are currently working on a cost estimate for the project. Funding could then come from the Federal Highway Administration, which issues certain dollars to states for maintenance of public highways, bridges and tunnels.Eby said those funds are flexible at the state level and this project could qualify. A 20-percent local match would be needed, but that amount has yet to be determined.Lengthy processThe public shouldn't expect to see any work happening along the boulevard in the immediate future, however.It still could take a year or more for the funding to be in local possession, Eby said.